Authorities in Pennsylvania reported that a shooting occurred early on Sunday at a private party there that left one person dead and eight others injured.
The incident at the Chevy Chase Community Center in White Township, roughly 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, was attended at 12:35 a.m. Sunday, according to state police in Indiana County.
Nine persons, aged 18 to 23, were shot, including a 22-year-old Pittsburgh resident who passed away at the site, according to authorities.
18-year-old men from Florida and Chicago were among the victims, with one 18-year-old male from Chicago suffering critical injuries. All of the other victims, including two 19-year-old women, three men aged 19, 20, and 22, three 19-year-old men, and a 23-year-old woman, were from Pennsylvania.
The injured were sent to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, UPMC Presbyterian UPMC Marcy in Pittsburgh, and Indiana Regional Medical Center in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Police provided an update later on Sunday morning and stated that several had already received treatment and been discharged.
Police encouraged anyone who had knowledge to contact troopers in Indiana County as there were no suspects in custody. The cause of the shooting, who was responsible, whether more than one person was involved, and whether the suspect or suspects were present at the gathering have not been disclosed by the authorities.
About two miles separate the shooting scene from Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s campus, which was hosting homecoming weekend. Although the incident was unrelated to the school, at least two university students were among the injured, according to Michelle Fryling, a university spokesman, who talked to the Tribune-Review. The university informed personnel via email that campus activities were proceeding as planned “with enhanced police presence,” according to the publication.
Robert Miller, a neighbor, claimed that as he and his wife were getting ready for bed, loud music started emanating from the structure.
He told the Tribune-Review, “Then all of a sudden, I heard about 20 gunshots.” “There were individuals sprawled out on the sidewalk’s edge. It’s frightful.
Ellen Ober, his wife, reportedly remarked that “there were people everywhere crying and screaming.”
According to Trooper Cliff Greenfield, the goal of the investigation is to learn as much as possible from witnesses.
He said to the newspaper, “Clearly we have not managed to interview everyone who was there. “People were running away; the scene was chaotic.”
According to the organization’s website, the Chevy Chase Community Center was constructed in 1971 by a group that was founded in 1969 to fight poverty and aid the underprivileged. In accordance with the center’s mission statement, it is its goal to “cultivate, nurture, & sustain a peaceful and inclusive culture which brings community with positivity, diversity, inclusion, education, nutrition, and love.”
On the facility’s Facebook page, executive director Brandi Ports posted that staff members are “pray[ing] for everyone involved” and that the center was going to be closed until further notice.
Please pray for those involved, our community, our staff, and our volunteers, the speaker said.
Lillian Clemons, a local citizen who had served as the center’s director, revealed to the Tribune-Review that her brother is one of the numerous people who receive meals there. She asserted that “crazy weekends” like homecoming shouldn’t be used to hire out the facility.
I’m going to cry. Everyone fights to retain this, therefore it’s hurtful, she added. “This was a benefit for the neighborhood. We require it for the benefit of the populace.